


out of the mouth of babes

by EinfachNiemand



Category: Blindspotting (2018)
Genre: Broccoli, F/M, Mentions of PTSD, collin hoskins being an adorable little shit, have your dentist on speed dial 'cause some of this will give you cavities, implied sex, mentions of domestic abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:26:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26314885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EinfachNiemand/pseuds/EinfachNiemand
Summary: From the comments of children, who are honest and innocent, comes truth and wisdom and love explained. Naya is a sassy six year old who sees the love between Collin and her mother before they see it themselves. When she starts making assumptions, Collin is forced to ask himself the hard questions.
Relationships: Collin Hoskins/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	out of the mouth of babes

It had only been a month since Collin had finished his probationary period, but it was still nearly impossible for him to find four walls and a roof for himself. He was desperate to get at least one foot under him, as living with his mother was more draining than he had anticipated. Not a day went by that she didn’t mention his ex. Everything was ‘Val this’ and ‘Val that’ and ‘Did you know Val does this really mundane thing that nobody actually gives a shit about’? He had started to brush off the comments, ignoring them more often than not, but they still made it hard for him to heal certain wounds.

Fortunately, being off probation meant the invisible Alameda County Line no longer confined him to a different kind of prison cell. The moving assignments he was able to take now were often the higher-end, rich customers. They weren’t afraid to foot the steeper fee, and their belongings were almost always packed up neatly when the movers arrived. It was just a bonus that they usually tipped reasonably well, often compensating for their white guilt.

While Commander Movers gave him a steady income, it was not nearly enough to afford rent in Oakland by himself as it fell victim to intense gentrification. Staying with Miles and Ash was an option, but Collin didn’t want to impose on them more than he absolutely needed. He thought living with them was too much, but crashing at their place when he needed a night away or after a night of partying was fine by him.

That’s where he found himself that night: at a ‘small get-together,’ which quickly turned into a full-blown rager whose music could be heard from two blocks over, bass rattling the windows of the houses next door. He stood in the kitchen, filling a plastic cup with a mixture of probably-not-alcohol and definitely-alcohol. He wasn’t entirely sure what was in the concoction, but it was booze, and that was all he needed. As he rounded the corner to make his way back into the living room where Miles was giving a dramatic monologue, he found himself chest to chest with Y/N. When they collided, he did his best to hold his drink out and away from them to avoid catastrophic spillage.

“Shit, Y/N, I’m sorry,” Collin said, taking a step back and looking down at her. She stuck out her bottom lip in a faux pout and looked from the crushed cup in her hand up to him.

“You broke my cup, man. Why you gotta be so rude?” she said, trying her best to hold back a laugh.

“I said I was sorry! Look, I’ll buy you a new one,” he said grinning. Y/N rolled her eyes and tossed the fractured plastic into the already overflowing trash bin.

“This fine china? Pfft,” she scoffed. “Ain’t nobody got the money for that.”

“The struggle is too damn real,” Collin said, taking a sip from his drink and wincing slightly at the vodquila flavored fruit juice.

“Have you moved out of your mama’s yet?” she asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the door frame.

“Unfortunately, no. Having ‘convicted felon’ on your rental app gets you an automatic N-O-P-E,” he said, bouncing his fingers in the air as he spelled out the last word. This earned him a laugh.

“Well, shit. You should’ve told me,” she said, punching his shoulder gently. “My roommate dipped last week, so I’ve got a free room. I was gonna put out feelers in a couple days to try and get someone before rent is due, but if you want it, it’s yours.” Collin’s eyes widened slightly as a smile twitched up the corners of his lips.

“Are you for real right now?” he asked. Y/N nodded.

“As long as you contribute to rent, you can move in Sunday,” she said. Collin let out a loud, excited laugh and staggered backward a bit before enveloping her in a tight hug.

“You are my MVP, I swear,” he said.

“Yeah, yeah. Shoot me a text in the morning, and I’ll give you the details,” she said, pushing his arms off her with a gentle laugh. 

“I will. Hey, are you stayin’? I can get you another drink if you want one.”

“Nah, I have to go relieve my sitter,” she said, waving him off before stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jacket. 

Collin nodded before wrapping her in another tight hug. After he finally let go and stopped showering her with ‘thank you’s, she made her way out the door and into the night. Filled with glee and newfound freedom, Collin made his way into the living room, where Miles’ monologue was still happening. He was far too sober for this.

* * *

It had only been two days since Y/N had offered him a place to stay. As soon as he woke up that Sunday morning, Collin had started packing his things. He didn’t have much, to be frank; he learned to live light while locked up and in the halfway house afterward. After he finished gathering his things, he stared blankly at the three bags perched on his bed and let out a deep sigh. It was hard to believe the events that had transpired and enabled him to whittle the entirety of his assets down to what he could carry on his back. He tried not to dwell on the memories, and instead took a deep breath and hoisted one of the bags over his shoulder, carrying the other two in his other hand.

Once Collin had dropped his bags next to the door, he turned back and walked into the kitchen where his mother sat.

“I’m glad you finally found a place,” she said, standing up. He nodded and pulled her into a hug. “Now, I can finally have my Guest Room B back”

“I was here for less than a month, Ma,” Collin said, giving her one last tight squeeze before pulling away, eager to get out before she made a half-assed comment about how he should’ve been back with Val by now. He started to make his way back to the door but stopped in his tracks. Instead, he turned on his heel and strode to one of the cabinets to the left of the sink. Opening the door, his eyes scanned the contents before settling on his target. Reaching forward, he wrapped his fingers around the mug and pulled it off the shelf. Smiling down at it, he turned and made his way to the door. The young boy on the couch watched Collin intently as he turned the mug over in his hands. Collin turned to him and held the mug up, eyes wide.

“This? Is my mugasaurus, Lil homie. Mine,” he said, and the young boy slowly shook his head and watched as the door closed after him.

An hour later, Collin found himself standing outside a similar door. He had knocked quickly, trying his best not to drop any of his bags as he waited. There were footsteps inside the apartment that grew louder as they approached and eventually, the door opened. 

“Hey, Collin,” Y/N said with a smile. She stepped to the side, opening the door wider and gesturing for him to come inside. “Your room is down the hall on the right, if you want to go toss your stuff in there. I just washed the sheets, so the bed isn’t made, yet. I figured you were grown enough to handle that yaself.”

“Oh, that’s no problem. I’m always down to lose my masculinity in a fight with a fitted sheet,” Collin said, chucking to himself before making his way down the hall.

The room was larger than he had expected it to be, but he wasn’t about to complain. There was a small desk, a bed, and a closet. Eventually, he would have the time, energy, and funds to furnish it and genuinely make the space his own. First, he needed to figure out what that meant now. He dropped his luggage on the floor with a sigh and bent down, unzipping one of the duffles to retrieve Mugasaurus. After placing the clay masterpiece on the center of the desk, he made his way back to the living area where Y/N was sitting cross-legged on the couch, a Warriors throw blanket draped over her legs. Kneeling by the coffee table was a little girl sorting legos into piles organized by color. When Y/N saw him, she smiled and tapped the child on the shoulder.

“Naya, baby. Do you remember when Mommy told you one of her friends was going to be staying with us for a while?” The little girl nodded, and Y/N turned her face to look at Collin. “This is Collin. Collin, this is my daughter Naya.”

Naya stared up at him, eyes narrowing slightly as she watched him. He looked from her to Y/N, noting that the younger of the two eerily resembled her mother. They had the same complexion, hair color and texture, and even the same stiff gaze as they both watched him crouch down so his face was level with Naya’s.

“Nice to meet you, Naya. Can I get a bump?” he said, holding out a clenched fist. Naya’s eyes shifted from his face to his hand and back again before she crossed her arms.

“Do you like Legos?”

“I love legos,” he said, answering her quickly. Her face softened slightly, and after a long pause, she straightened herself up in a feeble attempt to make herself look larger.

“What about chicken nuggets?”

“They should be they own food group,” he responded, closing his eyes and nodding once.

“Broccoli?” She asked quickly. At this, Collin’s eyes darted up to where the girl’s mother sat. Y/N was frantically making a ‘cut’ gesture across her neck, holding back a smile. With as serious a face as he could muster, Collin looked back at Naya.

“Disgusting.”

Without another moment’s hesitation, the young girl bumped her small fist against his before turning to her mother.

“He can stay.” Y/N looked at Collin as if finally having gotten the approval of the highest of courts.

“You can stay,” she echoed. He let out a loud laugh and stood back up before flopping back down on the couch next to the older woman.

He could stay.

* * *

It had been three months since Collin had moved in with Y/N and her firecracker of a daughter. Other than two awkward, half-naked run-ins with Y/N in the shared bathroom, everything was going exceptionally well. He had gotten a pay raise at work, and Val had finally moved on, leaving the desk job to a nice, older woman who always had a fully-loaded candy bowl.

The tension between Miles and Ashley had subsided considerably. After the gun incident with Sean, Miles had had a harsh awakening, imploring him to make some improvements regarding his anger problems. All this led to Ashley finally forgiving him and allowing him to start sleeping in their bed again, and Sean to stop trying to beat up Collin whenever he visited.

That’s where he found himself that morning, like any other—waiting for Miles to get his shit together so they would only be kind of late instead of incredibly late. Collin sat at the kitchen table with Sean as they both tuned out the antics of Miles.

“Where’s your girlfriend at Collin?” Sean asked, pushing the last bits of his pancake around on his plate. 

“Uh, what? I don’t have a girlfriend,” Collin said, furrowing his eyebrows. Sean looked up at him with an accusatory look.

“Naya’s mom, duh.”

“I’m not dating Naya’s mom, Sean,” Collin insisted. The younger of the two raised his eyebrows.

“You live together, and you’re not dating? That’s weird,” Sean said before hopping down off his chair to carry his plate to the sink. Instead of coming back to the table, he ran off to his room.

“Kid has a point, bruh,” Miles said, suddenly appearing behind his best friend.

“Shit, man. Not you, too. Ashley, come on. Side with me here,” Collin said, looking to her for some sort of lifeline. She held up her hands in defense.

“Y’all would make a cute ass couple. That’s all I’ma say.” She turned to the sink without another word and flicked the handle, spraying water onto the syrupy plate placed there by her son. Collin groaned, stood up from his chair, and walked to the door, a snickering Miles in tow.

After stopping at the corner store, making the drive across town, and clocking in, Collin and Miles were finally en route to their first move of the day in Walnut Creek. A comfortable silence hung in the air after Miles had finished ranting about the hipster that he heard that morning complaining about the noise of the train down the road. The silence was short-lived, though, as he decided to speak up again.

“Ay, so you tap that yet?”

“Wha--” Miles rolled his eyes dramatically.

“Y/N. You hit that shit yet?”

“Jesus, Miles. The fuck?” Collin said, looking over at his friend, who was wagging his eyebrows dramatically.

“She’s a piece, all I’m sayin’.”

“No! And I wish people would stop askin’ if we was together or somethin’. We’re roommates. That’s it. Period at the end of the sentence. Damn.”

Truthfully, the accusations were getting to be more frustrating as time went on. Collin was fully aware of how attractive his housemate was, but he wasn’t about to ruin a good thing. He put too much effort into averting his eyes whenever she walked around the house in a nearly transparent crop top and booty shorts for people to believe he was going to take advantage of the girl just because she was easily accessible. 

Over the past few months, he had gotten to know her pretty well, which wasn’t surprising. Collin had taken his newfound privacy to contemplate his priorities, which often meant saying home rather than going out to parties like before. He was more than happy to spend an evening binge-watching shows on Netflix with Y/N while Naya kept them even more entertained. 

If anyone had stolen his heart, it was Naya. The six (almost seven, as she always reminded him) year old had taken to making him one of her best friends. She insisted that they built things out of legos, often having a competition between the two of them, with Y/N being the final judge.

Y/N had started letting down her walls around him. There were several nights where the three of them were sitting on the couch, Collin on one end, Y/N on the other, Naya passed out in the most uncomfortable looking position she could muster. On these nights, the adults’ conversation became more important than whatever was playing on the television in the background. They could always rewind it, but the moments between them would pass.

Collin had learned the dark details of her past, and he had shared his with her. Y/N had been talking about still having nightmares about her abusive ex, Naya’s father, coming back to the two of them. When she finished, he swallowed his fears and spoke about the nightmares he had of Randall Marshall. They were both damaged, broken in places that couldn’t be fully repaired. Nevertheless, Collin found it relieving knowing that he had someone he could trust, someone that knew and experienced PTSD. Even though the circumstances of their traumas were drastically different, it was still a comfort knowing he wasn’t alone.

More often than he was willing to admit, he would be jolted awake in the middle of the night, the sound of gunshots echoing in his mind, and he would wander into the kitchen to get some water, tea, or something stronger to drown out his thoughts. On several occasions, he found Y/N sitting on the couch, blankly staring off into space, wrapped in a blanket, hair mussed from sleep. On these occasions, neither spoke a word as Collin wrapped himself in one of the many throw blankets strewn across the furniture and sat down next to her. Eventually, one of them would move to use the other as a pillow, and they would doze off like that, each of them falling into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

It had only been almost a year since Collin moved in with Y/N. For the first time, he felt that his life was improving for the better. She had gotten a new job as a sound engineer at a small recording studio in Berkeley and had managed to salvage and repair some equipment that was otherwise going to be trashed. She had every intention of selling it to make an extra buck, but Collin had convinced her to let him use it, though he didn’t know when or for what exactly. She wasn’t going to sell it to him for what she would originally ask, but it still wasn’t going to be free by any means. He paid her off in favors, food, and entertaining her daughter when she had to work late unexpectedly. It was a small price to pay to keep his mind occupied.

That’s where he found himself that afternoon: lounging on the couch, notepad in hand as Naya played on the living room floor. Y/N had stepped away to take a call from her boss and was currently having an animated conversation in the kitchen.

“Jay, I can’t just drop everything and come fix your soundboard again. I told you last time it broke that you needed to get a new one. . . . . You know I have a daughter! She’s my first priority. You agreed that this kind of thing wouldn’t happen if-- . . . .”

Collin tuned out the rest of the conversation, feeling bad for eavesdropping. Though, it was kind of hard not to with how loud she was speaking. He drew his eyes away from her as she paced back and forth, a hand tangled in her hair in frustration. When his gaze returned back to the living room, he noticed a small human sitting on the couch next to him, watching him intently.

“Wassup, homie?” he said, holding out a fist for the young girl to bump. She did so with a giggle and a wide grin, showing off the gaps in her teeth.

“Can I put beads in your hair?” she asked, shyness taking over her usual demeanor.

“Whaa-- Nah. Beads are so outta style, girl,” he said. Naya frowned and looked down into her lap. Collin let out a sigh and tossed his notepad and pen on the coffee table with a loud thwack before sitting up and looking at the kid. “I tell you what you can do, though.”

“What?” 

“I’ll let you give me a braid wrap -- just one, though.” He added the last part quickly, wanting to stave off any high expectations she would get. At this new opportunity, her big eyes lit up. Collin let out a laugh as she bounced with excitement.

“Do I get to choose the color?!” she asked, sporting a smile way too wide for her small face.

“Of course, you can choose the color.” Before he could get another word out, she was running down the hall to her room. He called after her, “Anything but green! You know it clashes with my complexion!”

He laughed and shook his head when a small voice let out a long groan from somewhere else in the apartment. Y/N, mirroring her daughter, groaned and flopped down on the couch next to him. He glanced at her before leaning back against the arm of the sofa.

“My boss is a fucking ass,” she said, rubbing her face with her hands. 

“What’s up?”

“I gotta go in and fix his ancient fucking soundboard again because he’s too damn cheap to buy a new one,” she said. “So I guess Naya and I will be out until late.

“Wait, why you gotta take her with you?” he asked, confused. Y/N sent him a pointed look.

“My sitter is in LA this weekend visiting her family, and I can’t exactly leave my seven-year-old kid home alone,” she said, rolling her eyes slightly.

“I mean, I can stay here with her if you want,” he said with a shrug. At this, Y/N’s eyes softened, and the corners of her mouth twitched up in a small smile.

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“That’s why I’m offering.”

“Are you sure?” Collin rolled his eyes dramatically and leaned toward her, trying his best to make sure his point got through.

“I ain’t got nothin’ else going on tonight.”

“Yeah, Mommy. Collin and I can stay here while you go to work.” Naya’s small voice could be heard as she made her way back into the living room, tackle box full of hair accessories in tow.

“See? I can’t turn down the opportunity to chill with my main girl for the evening as she glams me up,” he finished with a smile and a quick wink directed at the older of the two. Y/N let out a long sigh that turned into a chuckle as she looked between her roommate and her daughter, both giving her their best attempt at puppy dog eyes and pouty lips. 

“Fine,” she said finally. The other two shared a fist bump, celebrating their success. “But you can’t have ice cream for dinner!”

“But--”

“Neither of you,” she stressed as the grown man started to protest. She raised her eyebrows as her gaze bounced between them, making sure they understood her demand. 

Y/N took a few minutes to make sure everything was in order. She made sure the dynamic duo wasn’t going to burn the building down, get arrested, or end up halfway to Mexico. After some last-minute reassurance from Collin that he was, in fact, fine with staying in and babysitting for the evening, she finally made her way out the door.

* * *

It had only been a few hours since Y/N had left for the studio. Collin had barely noticed the time pass by as he sat in the living room, building a lego house with Naya. His eyes watched intently as she selectively snapped the plastic bricks in their places. Every time he would figure out her pattern, he would start assisting her, asking questions of where the windows and doors would go and if he was using the right color of brick to fit the aesthetic.

“What house are we building?” he asked eventually, as he built up one of the staircases. The structure took up the majority of the coffee table surface, had three levels, and more rooms than he could wrap his head around.

“Our house,” she said matter-of-factly. 

“Our house? This ain’t look nothin’ like our house. Girl, you’re losin’ it.”

“No, silly. It’s our future house. See, this is my room,” she pointed a small finger to one of the boxes on the uppermost level. “This is my baby brother’s room, and this is yours and Mommy’s room.”

“Uhh, why are me and your mom sharing a room, though? And since when do you have a baby brother?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. Naya shrugged.

“When you and Mommy get married, you’ll have to share a room. Otherwise that would be weird.”

“Me and your mom aren’t married, though, Naya,” Collin said quietly, trying to get her to understand the gravity of what she was suggesting without totally breaking her heart in the process. She turned and looked at him, cocking her head to the side.

“Well, do you think she’s pretty?”

The question caught him off guard, and he stared at her for a minute, opening and closing his mouth as if to speak, but not finding any words. He knew he had to be very careful with how he continued the conversation. Things like this tended to come back and bite him in the ass.

“Everyone thinks your mama’s pretty,” he said finally. Collin turned his eyes down to his hands, where he was fiddling with a red lego brick. 

“She thinks you’re pretty, too,” Naya said, pointing her small hand to where the red brick was to be placed. Collin raised his eyebrows at her as he snapped the lego into place.

“Does she now? How do you know that?”

“We were sharing secrets on one of our donut dates, and she told me,” she said, shrugging as if it were obvious. “So, I think you guys should get married.”

“There’s a lot more to marriage than just thinking the other person is pretty,” Collin said, failing to hold back a laugh. 

It was times like these where he missed being a kid. He missed believing things were simple. He missed the days when he and the other kids on the block would play in the street, reciting the lyrics to the latest MC Hammer song. They believed that they were all going to grow up and be just like him, changing the world with the bars he spat. Now the only verses he had were confined to his head, and occasionally the notepad on his desk. He still hadn’t made any use of the equipment that Y/N had salvaged. He didn’t know if it was from fear of failure or something else.

“Like what?” The small voice ripped him from his thoughts, and he blinked a couple of times, trying to focus back on what the two of them had been talking about.

“Oh, like... love, I guess,” he said with a shrug. 

“Do you love us?” At this, Collin smiled widely, nudging Naya with his shoulder.

“Of course I love you, kiddo, you’re my main squeeze. Who else is gonna do my hair and keep it lookin’ fresh?” He punctuated the statement with a dramatic flip of his braids. Naya giggled, showing her toothless grin. Once she settled down and focused on the house they were building together, there were a few moments of comfortable silence before she spoke again.

“Do you love Mommy?”

“Uh, what’s this room over here?” Collin asked quickly in an attempt to steer the conversation to anywhere but where it had been headed. Naya quickly looked at the area he was pointing.

“Oh, that’s the movie room. It’s where we make movies.”

At that, she went on another tangent about what else would be included in the house. While she rambled on about how many dogs they were going to have, Collin’s mind wandered down a path he had been avoiding for longer than he was willing to admit.

After the sun had gone down, dinner had been had, the two of them were laying on the couch attempting to watch an animated cinematic masterpiece, Naya on Collin’s legs, half asleep. The loud buzz of his phone on the coffee table jerked his attention away from the TV screen. Swiping to answer the call, he held the phone to his ear.

“Hello?”

_“Hey, sorry it’s been so long. I’m almost done, so I should be home soon.”_

“This girl is gonna pass out before you get home,” he said, glancing over at Naya whose eyelids were drooping.

_“I thought so. Is she awake now?”_ Collin sat up, and the movement of his limbs brought Naya out of her light sleep. Without a word, he put the phone on speaker and placed it on the blanket between them.

“Mommy?”

_“Hey, baby. Are you having fun?”_

“Yeah. We had chicken nuggets and broccoli and made a mansion out of legos.”

_“Hoskins, you got my baby girl to eat broccoli?_ ” At this, Collin couldn’t help but laugh.

“He cooks it different, Mom. It’s good,” Naya said defensively.

_“Well, how does he cook it?”_

“I dunno,” the little one replied, giving Collin a dramatic shrug.

“I, uh, put the little steamer bag thing in the microwave and follow the instructions on the back,” he said.

_“Well, damn. She must like you more than me. Girl hasn’t eaten broccoli a day in her life, and I leave her alone with you for one night, and suddenly it’s her favorite food.”_

“What can I say, I’m pretty good at stealing the hearts of ladies,” he said with a grin that he momentarily forgot she couldn’t see.

_“I’m fully aware...”_ He felt his breath catch in his throat. What?

“Mommy?”

_“Yeah, sweetie?”_

“When are you gonna marry Collin?” The innocence in Naya’s voice was almost bone-chilling, but Collin’s eyes widened as he choked on his saliva. He quickly swung his feet off the couch, standing up.

“O-kay. I think it’s time for bed, little girl,” he said, picking the phone off the blanket and hoisting Naya onto his hip before making his way to her bedroom. “Say goodbye to your mom.”

* * *

It had only been a couple of hours since he had hung up the phone with Y/N and put Naya to bed. The young girl made no fuss as she brushed her teeth, under the condition that Collin had to sing the ABCs to her to make sure she brushed long enough.

After a short bedtime story about the Town girl who grew up to be president (a favorite of Naya’s), he had softly closed the door to the bedroom before making his way back to the living room, where he started to clean up the toys that were strewn about. He needed to do something to occupy his mind, and since he couldn’t go on a run, he opted to clean the apartment a bit before heading to bed.

That was where he found himself an hour later. After a quick shower, he had flopped on the bed in his room and picked up the worn notebook on the desk. Flipping it open to an empty page, he clicked the pen in his hand repeatedly, wracking his brain for the right words. There were two ways Collin knew how to eloquently express complicated feelings, and that was through either verse or poetry. These had been welling up inside him for far too long, and yet, the words wouldn’t come. Eventually, he opted just to bury his nose in the binding of the book and lay there. Maybe if he got his brain closer to the paper, there wouldn’t be such a disconnect. His theory was wrong.

A soft knock on his door brought Collin back down to earth. Pulling the notebook off his face, he sat up quickly before loudly proclaiming that it was open. To no surprise, when the door opened slowly, it revealed Y/N. She slipped inside before quietly closing the door behind her. He watched intently as she took a few steps forward, stopping in the middle of the room.

“Hey,” she said quietly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Collin briefly flicked his eyes down her body. Swallowing the lump growing in his throat, he brought his gaze back up to her face.

“What’s up?” He asked, finally noticing the concerned look on her face.

“Nothing, I just... I wanted to say thanks. Again. For taking care of Naya tonight,” she said, biting her lip as she trailed off, avoiding eye contact with him.

“It’s no problem. I got a sick ass wrap out of it,” Collin said, pointing to a blue and yellow accented braid hanging on one side of his face. He shot Y/N a wide grin and tossed his notebook on the desk as he stood up.

“Well, um. That’s all. I just wanted to say thanks,” she said quietly. 

In an instant, all of the feelings Collin had been trying to come to terms with for the past few hours came crashing down on him like a tidal wave. This strong, beautiful woman was standing in front of him, and for the first time, he let himself notice her. When he did, he had a realization: _It’s now or never, Hoskins. Buck the fuck up, bruh._

“Are you sure?” The words were out of his mouth before he had a second to think about them.

“What?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows. He took a tentative step toward her.

“Are you sure that’s all you wanted?” His voice was low, almost a dark whisper.

“What do you mean?” Y/N asked, eyes widening. It seemed as though she was unable to move under his intense gaze. Collin was inches from her, eyes searching her face for an answer to a question neither of them wanted to ask.

“Are you sure...” Collin said, trailing off as he raised a hand to tuck a stray piece of hand behind her ear. He leaned in closer, tilting his head slightly. He felt her breath catch in her throat as he gently placed his palm against her cheek before continuing, “...there’s nothing else you want?”

“Collin…” she whispered, breathing already unsteady. When he saw her eyes drop to his mouth, he pinched his lips together before giving a small smirk.

“Y/N…” Collin’s response was barely audible, a hot whisper that almost got lost between them. He cocked his head to the side as he waited for her to make the next move.

As he waited in silence, the only sound in the room being the breath between them, Collin’s mind was racing. His thoughts were a whirlwind of mixed emotions, the passing comments from Ash and Miles, and, of course, the persistence of Naya’s dreams for the future of her family. It was clear to him that there was something there; there was something more waiting for him and all he had to do was finally take the leap and hope that she was there when he reached the bottom. All the laughs that they shared, the warm smiles Y/N gave him whenever he interacted with Naya, and the nights they spent together in a comforting silence on the couch when neither of them could sleep all came together at once, screaming at him to pay attention. 

He was happy. 

He was happy for the first time in a long time and he hoped it wasn’t going to fade away any time soon.

When Y/N finally pressed her lips against his, everything stopped. His mind went blank and the only thing on his mind was her and how much softer her lips were than he had imagined. Although her hands were cold, Collin’s skin still burned as she dragged her hands up his bare chest before wrapping them around his neck.

Their mouths moved together, awkwardly trying to find the right rhythm. Collin trailed his free hand down her side, noting the shiver that wracked her body as he dragged his fingers across her ribs. Finally resting his palm against the small of her back, he pulled her closer, pressing her body flush against his. Y/N let out a small groan at the contact and pulled away, resting her forehead against his. Opening his eyes slightly, Collin grinned down at her.

“Why do you taste like coffee? It’s almost midnight,” he asked, bumping his nose against hers.

“I don’t need your judgement, Hoskins,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“What _do_ you need then?” he asked. 

“You,” she said quickly before capturing his lips again. 

Collin took the opportunity to move his hands to the backs of her thighs, hoisting her up. She let out a surprised squeak and quickly wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him as he carried her to the bed behind them.

The instant her back hit the blankets, he settled himself between her legs, lips pressing against hers quickly before moving to trail featherlight kisses down her jawline to her neck. Y/N shivered under his touch and every moan that she let out added fuel to the fire that was growing between them. Collin grinned to himself as she muttered a curse when he gently nipped her collarbone.

Sitting up, he made quick work of her shirt. His hands slipped beneath the fabric to caress the soft skin of her abdomen before lifting the piece of clothing over her head and tossing it to the side. He gazed at her for a moment, committing every curve of her body to memory as if it were going to disappear at any second. He was brought back to earth when Y/N grazed her fingertips along his jaw. When her eyes met his, they were dark, overwhelmed with lust. Or was it love? He couldn’t tell. 

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” he asked quietly. Collin brushed his lips against hers as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. Y/N giggled slightly and gave him a pointed look.

“Collin, do you have _any_ idea how long it’s been since I’ve gotten laid?”

“Um, no? Should I?” he asked with a chuckle. Furrowing his brows, he gave her a soft smile, imploring her to elaborate. She rolled her eyes at him.

“How old is Naya?”

“Uh, seven? Why’s that got anything to do with-- _oh_.” His eyes widened as the realization came over him. 

“Yeah. _Oh_ ,” she mocked him, blushing slightly.

“So--”

“Yes,” she cut him off before he could ask again. “I’m abso- _fucking_ -lutely sure I want to have sex with you. Right now.” 

Without another word, Collin tangled his fingers in the hair at the back of her head and pulled her into a hungry, bruising kiss. Y/N gave into his control, and his touches became more frantic, eagerly exploring every inch of her body.

* * *

The sun was the second to wake the next morning, beating in through the window and heating the room quickly. Collin had already been awake for almost an hour, not willing to untangle his limbs from Y/N’s, even though he desperately needed to pee. Just when the pressure in his bladder had become almost too much to handle any longer, the sleeping girl next to him rolled over. As quickly and quietly as he could, he scrambled out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom.

Minutes later, he flicked the light off as he stepped back into the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Naya walking out of Y/N’s bedroom, a distressed look plastered on her face. When she saw Collin, the young girl ran to him, a stuffed tiger swinging along at her side.

“Wassup, Naya?” he asked, crouching down to her level. 

“I can’t find Mommy,” she said, voice wavering. Collin smiled and brushed a strand of bedhead out of her face. 

“She had a nightmare last night, so she came into my room to hide from the monster,” he said. Naya’s eyes widened slightly.

“Is she okay?” The concern in the girl’s voice was impeccable.

“She is, but she’s still asleep. Should we go wake her up?”

When Naya nodded, Collin stood up. Hooking his hands under her armpits, he hoisted her off the ground and settled her against his hip. Without hesitation, Naya wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder. The stuffed tiger lay forgotten on the floor.

When the two of them had reached the side of Collin’s bed, he glanced at her and quietly asked if she was ready to execute the plan they had agreed upon on the short walk across the apartment. Together, they counted down from three. When they hit zero, Naya launched herself out of Collin’s arms and fell onto the bed beside her mother. 

“Jesus Christ!” Y/N’s curse was drowned out by the giggles shared between Naya and Collin. The little girl scrambled to climb on top of her mom, finally settling to sit on her abdomen, and Collin flopped down beside them. He leaned on his elbow, propping his head up on his hand.

“Mommy, I was worried ‘cause I couldn’t find you this morning but Collin said you had a nightmare and had to have him scare away the monsters and that’s why you had to sleep in here instead of your room,” Naya said quickly. Y/N raised her eyebrows and looked from her daughter to Collin, who gave a small shrug.

“He did. He’s pretty good at… scaring away the monsters,” she said, poking Naya in the tummy. 

“He also said that we could have pancakes for breakfast,” Naya giggled, grinning wide. Collin shook his head abruptly and dropped his jaw, waving his hand in offense.

“Girl, no I did not,” he said loudly. At this, Naya turned to him and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.

“Collin, can we pretty please have pancakes for breakfast?” she said sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

“It’s kinda hard for me to say no now,” he rolled his eyes playfully. “Go get the stuff ready. If you’re nice, I’ll let you mix.”

Naya smiled widely and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug before running off to the kitchen. When she was out of sight, Collin turned back to Y/N, who was shaking her head slightly.

“That girl has you wrapped around her little finger.”

“Like mother like daughter, I guess,” he said, placing his hand against her cheek. 

He gave her a smile before leaning in and giving her a soft, chaste kiss. Y/N’s eyes fluttered shut as her hand found the back of his head, holding him in place. When they broke apart, too quickly for Collin’s liking, he bumped their noses together.

“So I’m pretty good at scaring monsters away, huh?” he smirked. Y/N rolled her eyes and smacked his arm playfully.

“Shut your mouth and go make ya goddamn pancakes, Hoskins.”

**Author's Note:**

> After watching Blindspotting for the first time, this plotline is the only thing that was in my head. It wouldn’t go away, so I brain-dumped in a google doc, edited it too many times to count, and now I’m posting it. The world needs more Collin Hoskins and Collin Hoskins needs more love.


End file.
